ICCP News

ICCP is proud to announce the 2013 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees. The two new individual inductees and the first ever team to be inducted will be honored on Saturday, January 19th, at halftime of the ICCP varsity Boy’s Basketball game against Fenwick, which is set to tip off at 7:30pm. Inductees, along with their families and friends, will also take part in a celebratory Mass and Athletic Hall of Fame reception prior to the game.

On Saturday, January 19th, the ICCP Girls and Boys Basketball programs will be hosting a “Play for a Cure” Night to raise funds for the American Cancer Society through the Coaches vs Cancer program. The teams will be donning special royal blue jerseys, representing the fight against colon cancer, in honor of the recent passing of Kevin Radoha, ICCP parent and father of varsity Girls Basketball player Abby Radoha and Raymond Lawrence, uncle of varsity Girls Basketball Head Coach Aubree Lawrence. A Silent Auction, Bake Sale, special t-shirt sale and Split-the-Pot Raffles will be available as part of the fundraising effort and all of the proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society to help raise awareness about cancer and support the on-going search for a cure.

The girl’s sophomore game is scheduled to begin at 12:30pm, with the girl’s varsity at 2:00pm, both against Willows Academy. Sophomore boys will play at 11:00am with the varsity boys tipping off at 7:30pm, both against Fenwick HS. The games will all be held at the IC Gym located at 130 Arthur Street in Elmhurst.

The ICCP National Honor Society members led a toy drive between Thanksgiving and Christmas break in hopes of bringing some extra joy to some families in need this holiday season. Donation baskets were placed in classrooms and students were asked to bring in new, unwrapped toy donations. NHS leaders also collected cash to be used to purchase even more toys for the IC donation. In addition, during lunch periods, Candy Cane Grams were sold which students could purchase and have delivered with a personalized message.

On Friday, December 14th, the ICCP “elves” loaded up two carloads with boxes of goodies after school and personally delivered over $2,200 worth of toys to the Toy Express main facility. The collection was so successful that a group of students had to make a special trip to the store to purchase additional toys with the added donations before the delivery was made. This past weekend the Toy Express gave toys to 800 children through local firemen and then had 500 families come to the store front to pick out toys for their kids.

Founded in 1990, it is the goal and tradition of Toy Express to distribute toys and clothing to thousands of underprivileged children in the Western Suburbs each year. Families in need are able to come to the “store” in Willowbrook and select the toys that they wish to give to their children. For more information on the Toy Express, please check www.toyexpress.org.

ICCP is proud to announce the addition of Alexian Brothers Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Patricia Cassidy ’80 and Baker & MacKenzie LLP Attorney, Robert Deignan ’56 to the Board of Directors for the school. They will serve on this board with Charles Priester ’56, Don Hoffman, Tom Ryan ’81, John Howlett, Francine “Sis” Greco and ex-officio members; IC Pastor Fr. Thomas Paul and President/Principal Pamela Levar. The ICCP community is grateful for the many years of service provided by Steve Remy, Tom Manion ’72 and Gene Faut who will be leaving their positions on the Board.

Patricia Cassidy graduated from ICCP in 1980 and then attended the University of Illinois where she earned a BA degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Continuing her education, Trisha went on to earn her Master’s in Business Administration from Loyola University in Chicago. After gaining some experience in the business world, Trisha was hired by Loyola University Health System and took on many roles during her 22 years there, including directing various strategy and business development departments and becoming a senior vice-president within the organization. In 2009, Trisha’s hard work and dedication was acknowledged when she was named the President of Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park when Gottlieb joined Loyola’s Health System. There she was responsible for the opening of a new cardiovascular unit, the implementation of a patient centered care model that attempted to put more control in the hands of patients in the hospital, and the opening of an Immediate Care Center in River Forest IL. Most recently, Trisha was appointed to the newly created position of Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Alexian Brothers Health System. In her new role, Cassidy is responsible for developing, communicating, implementing and evaluating strategies for Alexian Brothers Health System’s acute-care and senior ministries divisions.

“Over the past two years I have had the opportunity to become reacquainted with ICCP” explained Cassidy. “I am impressed with the spirit and dedication that exists here. I recognized that ICCP laid a foundation that has helped me throughout my adult life, and so, if possible, I should give back. I hope that my service on the board will do just that.”

Robert E. Deignan graduated from ICCP in 1956 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa in 1960. In addition, Bob continued his education, earning his law degree from John Marshall Law School in 1965. Bob has held various management positions at Baker & McKenzie LLP for over 45 years, including Executive Committee Member for four years. Bob has significant experience in the areas of Real Estate & Construction, where he advises domestic and foreign property developers and investors. His practice focus includes representing numerous contractors and architects in the United States, as well as foreign investors in US properties. Bob has advised developers of office and industrial buildings, shopping centers, agricultural properties, golf courses and hotels. He has extensive experience representing corporate investors in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and lenders in connection with loans secured by real estate. Bob is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.

The outstanding play of IC Catholic Prep senior, Sean Fenton, was recently recognized when he was named to the IHSA Class 3A Football All-State team. On November 23rd, during the IHSA State Football Finals, Fenton traveled to University of Illinois Memorial Stadium in Champaign-Urbana to receive his award.

Fenton, who was an SCC Gold All-Conference and Academic All-Conference selection this year, plans to continue his playing career in college but has not yet made the decision on where he will attend. Sean finished the 2012 season averaging 5.9 tackles per game with 59 solo tackles and two fumble recoveries while playing linebacker and on both the offensive and defensive line for the Knights.

In addition to Football, Fenton earns high honors academically and is a member of the National Honor Society, Super Squad, Chess Club, a three year member of the Track team, a Knight Ambassador, and a Eucharistic Minister. Last year, he also represented ICCP at Illinois Boys State.

ICCP is the oldest Catholic, coeducational college prep high school in DuPage County. Located in Elmhurst, ICCP serves students from over forty communities in the western suburbs.

ICCP, the oldest Catholic high school in DuPage County, has received approval from the Diocese of Joliet to begin the first phase of a multi-phased renovation project to Monsignor William J. Plunkett Field in Elmhurst. The renovations will start April 2013 and are scheduled for completion in time for the 2013 Knights fall sports season.

The planning process for this project, which began over a year ago, is a collaborative effort with the Immaculate Conception Grade School (ICGS) and Immaculate Conception Parish communities. The long term vision for Plunkett Field includes installation of a synthetic turf playing surface, a new entranceway into the stadium, lighting, new spectator seating, and new concession and restroom facilities.

Presently, both ICCP and ICGS play their outdoor athletic home games at Plunkett Field. At the high school level, Plunkett hosts the Knights contests in baseball, football, lacrosse and soccer. The plan includes adding softball to the sports played on Plunkett Field.
Phase One renovations at Plunkett Field will be highlighted by the installation of synthetic turf. The present natural grass field can no longer support the heavy usage and traffic that it is subjected to each year. In addition to turf, IC will be adding a new arched entryway to Plunkett that will incorporate a paver-bricked walkway. Personally engraved paver bricks will continue to be offered as a part of the project’s fundraising. To date, over $40,000 has been raised through paver brick sales.

The estimated cost to complete Phase One of the renovations is approximately $2.1 million. ICCP has been actively fundraising for the project since 2011. As a parish high school, IC is subject to the policies of the Diocese of Joliet. Diocesan policy states that parish schools need to have 100 percent of their funding goal in pledged support along with 80 percent of the actual cash in hand to begin a capital project such as the Plunkett Field renovations. IC will continue its fundraising efforts to support future phases of the Plunkett Field Project after Phase One construction loans (approximately $400,000) can be covered.

For more information on how you can help, please contact Scott LaMorte, ICHS Director of Institutional Advancement, by phone at (630) 530-3485 or email at [email protected]. Cash donations and in-kind gifts of products or services needed are appreciated.

On Wednesday, October 31st, ICCP held its annual National Honor Society induction ceremony where 23 new inductees were presented. Senior NHS Co-President, Katie Fenton, greeted all those in attendance, which included students, faculty and family members of the inductees. In a special prayer service, the inductees were presented with pins and signed the Librum Honorarium. Class of 2011 Alumna, Julie D’Agostino, was the featured speaker at the ceremony. Having just celebrated the one year anniversary of her life-saving double lung transplant, Ms. D’Agostino delivered an emotional message of facing challenges and the incredible role that the power of prayer and community has played in her recovery. Following the prayer service, the celebration continued at the NHS Induction Breakfast sponsored by the ICCP Parents Club.

Membership in the National Honor Society is designed to give recognition to students who display outstanding scholarship, character, leadership, and service. Once elected, members have the responsibility to continue to these virtues. At ICCP, the first requirement for NHS is a 3.5 cumulative grade point average or higher. A student with a 3.5 cumulative grade point average or higher may apply for membership or renewal. Juniors and seniors who apply will then be evaluated on the basis of scholarship, character, leadership, and service.